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Radhika Jones sets a new tone with her inaugural Vanity Fair cover

PERSPECTIVE | Jones says Lena Waithe was an ‘easy choice’

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March 22, 2018 at 1:30 p.m. EDT

After much fanfare and anticipation, Vanity Fair’s editor Radhika Jones made her debut with a spotlight on one of Hollywood’s rising stars, Lena Waithe.

Jones introduces Waithe in the new April issue as an “easy choice” for her.

Lena Waithe made history at the Emmys. Here are black women in comedy who came before her.

“She’s been busy since her Emmys speech went viral,” Jones wrote. “She’s the critics’ darling in her big-screen debut as Aech in Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi fantasy ‘Ready Player One.’ Her new series, ‘The Chi,’ debuted on Showtime in January and was renewed for a second season. She joined Time’s Up, working on behalf of women and the L.G.B.T. community in the quest for more equitable representation and compensation in Hollywood. The pilot of her show ‘Twenties’ has been picked up by TBS, and she’s turning her unofficial mentoring program into a pipeline for writers of color looking to break into Hollywood. This is Lena Waithe’s year, and we’re delighted to mark it.”

Waithe’s profile, written by award-winning author Jacqueline Woodson and photographed by the legendary Annie Leibovitz, is breathtaking and inspiring.

“I don’t need an Emmy to tell me to go to work,” she told Woodson.

Lena Waithe’s new TV show, ‘The Chi,’ is going viral before its premiere

This not only feels like a step in the right direction. It is one.

Jones is widening the definition of Hollywood royalty in a way that’s inclusive and less about looking like the traditional covergirl. Her tenure comes at a time when a lot of magazines are revisiting their covers and coverage and likely, making changes as well.

The Fashion Spot has been following an upward trend of diversity within the glossy pages, the likes of which have never been seen before. And no magazine has gotten more attention than Teen Vogue when it pivoted from a girl’s fashion magazine to one that has a clear, political voice alongside its fashion spreads.

The media business may be in flux, but it’s exciting to watch magazines finally begin to look more like their readers than someone’s idealized impression of what’s in-style.